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2 reviews for Pictures at an Exhibition

5 out of 5

Piano Bulletin, Olga de Kort KoulikovaJanuary 25, 2017

Fomin plays Pictures from an Exhibition with the allure of a pianist for whom the score holds no technical secrets and, moreover, who knows everything about the instrument’s potential for expression. From the first accentuated and energetic notes of the “Promenade” to the last bars of the “Great gate of Kiev”, his playing is clear, nuanced, expressive and never forced. Add to this the well-dosed dynamic and the overwhelming strength (particularly in the orchestral sounding passages, with the doubling of octaves and stacked thirds), and you get a performance that carries you away, in which every note is audible, every bar autonomous and every phrase intensively experienced

5 out of 5

Klassieke Zaken, Willem VeldhuizenMarch 5, 2017

An excellent CD, beautifully recorded and put together
Russian pianist Misha Fomin begins his new CD with Ravel’s Jeux d’eau written in 1901. His interpretation is transparent and flowing, with supple rubatos and luxuriant sparkling harmonies. The two Debussy Preludes demand no less riches: they are truly becalmed and a picturesque halfway house to the whimsical world of Scriabin which follows. Listen to the playful scherzo-like Etude op 1 no. 8 in which the speed of the virtuoso performance never smothers Misha Fomin’s delicate touch. And do listen to Etude op 8 no. 11 in which a Rachmaninov-like theme of familiar Slav melancholia gets the fullest and most dignified characterisation. As a finale Misha Fomin produces a monumental performance of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. He has all the boisterous power to give the work both the orchestral allure and reflective pathos it needs to fill the music with mystery. The Ballad of the Unhatched Chicks is finely-spun, his Two Jews, Rich and Poor, is deeply expressive and dramatic, and the Market Place in Limoges shows the limpid onward flow of the melody. The final Great Gate of Kiev combines Fomin’s consummate musicianship with his deep understanding of the music. An excellent cd, beautifully recorded and put together.